1st time brewing

[sarge]

Here is what I have:

The Deluxe beer brewing kit:

http://www.beer-wine.com/products/delux ... ngredients

6.6 lbs. of amber malt extract
6.6 lbs. of light malt extract
2lbs. Muntons Crushed Crystal 2 row barley malt
1.5 oz. Cascade Hops
1.5 oz. Liberty hops
Muntons brewing yeast
Clove
Cinnamon
1 lb. Honey

Here is the supplied recipe:

http://www.beer-wine.com/node/1774


I want to make a Christmas/holiday ale. I'd like something with a spice smell and taste, but not overpowering. I don't like a hoppy beer. I plan on brewing this on Sunday 10/17/10. Any thoughts/suggestions?

[jawbox]

What size batch are you making? 2 Lbs of Crystal sounds like a lot to me. Do you know what °L the crystal is?

[sarge]

Wasn't planning on using all that extract and crystal, just listing what I have.

[slothrob]

What size batch are you making? 2 Lbs of Crystal sounds like a lot to me. Do you know what °L the crystal is?

Right. It's probably going to be a sweet malty beer, so I don't think you're going to need to worry about it being too hoppy.

My one general suggestion would be to get a copy of How to Brew by John Palmer and read it. More specifically, there are a couple things I'd add or change in the instructions:
I'd just steep the grain at 150-170F, not boil it.
B-Brite isn't really a sanitizer, it's a cleaner. I'd get some StarSan if you think you're going to be brewing more than this one batch.
I'd boil the top-off water ahead of time to sanitize it. You can cool it off in the fridge to help cool the beer.
Add the yeast to the wort when it's below 70F.
I'd let the fermentation go for at least 2 weeks without touching it, not 1 week, but that's arguable.
Also, on your first batch I wouldn't worry about taking the OG. Extract beers almost always hit the target gravity if you hit the volume. It will give you one less thing to worry about and one less chance to contaminate your beer.